Police said today that investigations are ongoing into the electrocution of a 14-year-old boy in Laamu Atoll Gan.
Authorities have released few details about the case but said the teenager is in stable condition.
The boy was electrocuted on the night of 26 May while attempting to obtain electricity from a power box at the island's community beach park. The electricity was reportedly being used to light an area near the beach where preparations were underway for Eid celebrations.
In a Facebook post, the boy's mother said her son, who is receiving treatment at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), has been taken off the ventilator and is showing signs of recovery.
However, she questioned the circumstances that led to the incident, alleging that it resulted from serious lapses in public safety.
"Public safety issues, such as electricity boxes, should be handled more responsibly. They should not be within easy reach, especially in ways that endanger the safety of children and the public," she wrote.
The mother also argued that a properly functioning safety system should have automatically cut power in the event of an electrical fault. She alleged that a failure in the protection system allowed her son to remain exposed to electric current for an extended period.
She called on the utility provider, Fenaka Corporation, to conduct a thorough investigation and take measures to prevent similar incidents.
Scene compromised
Speaking to Mihaaru News, Gan Council President Afsal Jaufar said the incident occurred when a group of teenagers attempted to obtain electricity to power lighting near the beach.
According to Afsal, an electrical box near the park contains an earth-leakage circuit breaker (ELCB) and a distribution board used for drawing electricity.
"There was a box that had been temporarily installed before Eid to provide electricity for a Baibalaa court. It was locked, but such boxes can be opened using a wrench," he said.
Afsal said it remains unclear whether the teenagers opened the box themselves or obtained electricity through another connection point.
"I don't know if the children opened the box themselves and connected to it, or whether they used the socket on the board that had the ELCB and connected a wire to it," he said.
He added that the distribution board was no longer at the scene when police arrived.
According to the council president, neither the council nor Fenaka had been informed in advance that electricity would be taken from the area.
"No permission acquired"
A Fenaka official told Mihaaru News that the electrical box near the community park was equipped with an ELCB. However, the official said a separate board used to draw electricity from the box had a damaged ELCB.
Preliminary findings from the utility's internal investigation suggest that electricity was instead taken from a streetlight connection that did not have an ELCB installed.
The official said responsibility for ensuring that streetlights are fitted with ELCBs lies with local councils. Councils have previously been instructed to inspect streetlights and install the devices where necessary following similar incidents.
An ELCB, or earth-leakage circuit breaker, is a safety device designed to automatically disconnect power when it detects leakage currents that could cause electric shock.
Fenaka said inspections conducted in 2024 found that many streetlights across the country were operating without ELCBs. The Utility Regulatory Authority later fined the company MVR 50,000 over the issue, and councils were subsequently given a deadline to address the problem.
The issue drew attention following the death of an 18-year-old in Raa Atoll Ungoofaaru, who was electrocuted after stepping into water that had become energized by a faulty streetlight.
